Google Warns BBC: Post on Merrill’s O’Neal May Be ‘Forgotten’

Former Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O’Neal, shown here in 2007, is the subject of a BBC post affected by “right to be forgotten” rules.

Bloomberg News

A Google notice that it would block some search results for a seven-year-old British Broadcasting Corp. blog post on former Merrill Lynch Chief Executive Stan O’Neal is raising questions and confusion about the new European Union “right to be forgotten” privacy rules weeks after their introduction.

Under Google’s interpretation of the rules, according to a person familiar with Google’s data-takedown process, EU residents who aren’t public figures can request removal of search results that come up in searches of their own name that they consider outdated and prejudicial. It wasn’t immediately clear how the rules applied to the BBC post, titled “Merrill’s Mess,” in which the only person mentioned was Mr. O’Neal, a U.S. citizen of considerable renown.

Robert Peston, the writer of the post, said the leading search engine sent the BBC a notification that the post would be removed from certain European searches, though it didn’t specify the name or names from whose search results it would be removed.

“Obviously, I was a bit alarmed about it,” Mr. Peston told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s a story that’s plainly in the public interest for it to be freely available and easy to find.”

Although Google’s interpretation of the European Court of Justice’s May directive wouldn’t allow Mr. O’Neal to have the post removed from search results on his name, there are 13 names mentioned in the comments below the post. Any of those people might have made the request, though it wasn’t immediately possible to determine which had done so. Some searches including each of their names still turned up links to the post on Thursday.

“I’m sure there are people who’ve got really hideous stuff written about them of an untrue nature,” Mr. Peston said. “But I can’t see remotely how it’s in the public interest to hide my story, and one sort of slightly worries that this is the beginning of a very messy process—and one that is ultimately damaging to the freedom of the press.”

The post is still pretty easy to find, however. As Mr. Peston pointed out, it won’t be hidden from searches on the requester’s name outside of Europe. In Europe, it will only be hidden from searches for the requester’s name—and even then those in Europe who click “use Google.com” in the lower right corner of their local Google homepage, will still be able to find it. Moreover, the burst of coverage that has resulted from the Google notice has likely generated more search results for the post than would have otherwise been the case.

“We’ve recently started taking action on the removals requests we’ve received after the European Court of Justice decision,” a Google spokesman said. “This is a new and evolving process for us. We’ll continue to listen to feedback, and we’ll also work with data-protection authorities and others as we comply with the ruling.”

At least two other European media outlets have reported receiving recent Google takedown notifications. The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper said Google advised it of several affected articles, including three on a former Scottish Premier League soccer referee, Dougie McDonald. In Spain, El Mundo reported that some search results are hidden regarding a 2008 ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court involving executives of Riviera Coast Invest who were involved in a mortgage mis-selling scandal.